Is anyone experiencing a difficult time or noticing that parts are becoming more expensive or difficult to find?
Not any more so than any other older vehicle. What year is yours and are you looking for a specific part?
I’ve got a ‘92 and I’ve had no problems getting most parts I would expect to be able to get at a parts store for any car and I haven’t noticed them being any more expensive than any other Japanese rig. Granted, it came with the GM 3.1l engine which is (pretty much) the same engine that came in zillions of S10’s, so the engine parts are smokin’ cheap! But even the body, brake and suspension stuff still seems pretty avaliable and reasonably priced.
One trick if you’re really stuck is that they sold these rigs as Honda Passports, so you can still get parts for them at the Honda dealership if you’re really stuck. The Honda dealership ain’t cheap though! I’ve heard this site is also another good source for dealer-only parts, although I’ve never personally dealt with them: http://www.myisuzuparts.com/
Its a 1997 and I’ve put a new timing chain, clutch, tires, will need brakes soon and it needs lug nuts and stems. Tired of putting $ in it. Wondering if its worth it.
Only you can evaluate the repair vs replace situation, because you know the vehicle condition best.
All of what you list are normal maintenance or is an inexpensive fix (lug nuts). Appears you probably have a timinTg belt, not chain, from the info I see. Get new valve stems with new tires.
On the other hand, what kind of replacement car can you get for the expenditure? I would suspect not one that might be superior to this one if you have kept up the Rodeo with normal maintenance schedules.
Heck, sounds like you just need a brake job. Since they have to take the wheel hub apart to turn or replace the brake rotor, there shouldn’t be too much extra labor involved with doing the lug studs at the same time. It’s actually not a bad idea to change those as a preventative measure-- for whatever reason the studs on Isuzus are really prone to stripping and breaking.
If the truck is in otherwise good shape, I wouldn’t hesitate to get the brakes done.
Plan on spending $1,000 each year keeping this Rode going. You can replace it with a new one for $30,000 but 5 years down the road you’ll end up spending $1,000 a year in maintenance and repair on that vehicle.
How much have you been averaging per year in repair and maintenance?